Seniors Shine In Racers' 1-0 Win Over Belmont

Sunday, October 23

Cutchin Field

2 p.m.

Murray State

8-4-3 (7-0-2)

Belmont

5-8-4 (4-4-1)

Team	1	2	Final F
Belmont	0	0	0
Murray St.	1	0	1

Ali Critcher, Taylor Richerson, Lyssie Wright

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

10/23/2016 5:36:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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The Murray State Racers took a step closer to clinching their second-straight Ohio Valley Conference women's soccer regular season championship with a 1-0 win Sunday over the Belmont Bruins.

The win at Cutchin Field in Murray, Ky., pushed the Racers to 7-0-2 in league play as they head to the final game Thursday at Austin Peay. The Racers can clinch in several scenarios in the game in Clarksville, Tenn.

Almost two years to the day since their last OVC regular season loss (To Belmont on Oct. 26, 2014), the Racers are unbeaten in OVC play at 7-0-2 and now 8-4-3 overall. The Bruins fell to 5-8-4 and 4-4-1.

On senior day when MSU honored a trio of seniors, one of them scored the only goal of the game. Taylor Richerson knocked home her fifth goal of the season in the 20^th minute. The goal was assisted by first Ali Critcher and then Cori Cain.

Alex Steigerwald recorded her sixth shutout of the season in goal for MSU, as the Racer defense limited her exposure. Steigerwald made all six saves presented.

The Racer defense has been outstanding recently and now has given only two goals in the last seven games.

Game Notes
With one game to play in the regular season, the Racers lead the OVC with 23 points, but have yet to clinch the title. Eastern Kentucky is in second place after the weekend with 21 points and Tennessee Tech is in third at 20 points. Three points is awarded for a win and one point to each team in a tie. While the Racers take on Austin Peay Thursday, EKU and Tech will face off in Richmond, Ky. Both games will be streamed live and free on OVCDigtalNetwork.com.

The Racers amazing unbeaten streak of 20 games in league regular season games dates back to the last loss, which came to Belmont at home (Oct. 26, 2014). Included in this run is last season's 10-0 OVC championship run that made the Racers the OVC's first undefeated champion. The Racers can end this OVC season without a loss if they can win or get a draw at APSU.

After the game, the senior trio of Ali Critcher, Taylor Richerson and Lyssie Wright were honored at the center of Cutchin Field with their families. The three have played together for three seasons that Jeremy Groves has coached the Racers and have won 35 games, with 24 of them in OVC play.

The Racers are 35-18-3 overall and 24-3-2 in OVC play in the Groves area and on the doorstep of a second OVC title.

MSU has been practically unbeatable on the pitch at Cutchin Field since Groves's arrival in time for the 2014 season. MSU is 22-3-1 overall and 16-1 in OVC games. Since the aforementioned loss to Belmont, the Racers have won 10 straight OVC regular season games at home.

The game at APSU will mark the 17^th meeting in the series. MSU leads 11-4-1 and has won the last four. APSU's last win in the series was at MSU in 2011. The Govs last win in Clarksville was 2005. Since then, the Racers have won the last four at APSU.

When the Racers meet the Govs Thursday in Clarksville, not only will the OVC be on the line for the Racers, but the match also means another game in the Battle of the Border sponsored by Heritage Bank. For the first time, there is a running tally between these two great schools that make up one of the best rivalries in the OVC. With 67 points available (representing the 67 miles between the campuses) the fun started this fall already with the Racers beating the Govs in volleyball and football. This mean the Racers have an early 6-0 lead. Check GoRacers.com for the points system being used to determine the winner of the Battle of the Border.

The 2016 OVC Tournament starts on Sunday (Oct. 30) when the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds host seeds No. 6 and No. 5. The top two seeds get a bye to the semifinals which will be played at the OVC regular season champion on Nov. 4. The championship game will be played Nov. 6.

The Racers are a win from hosting again, a year after they hosted and won two games to get their second NCAA Tournament appearance.